Red Sky To The East
by shinelrond
Summary: The ring survives to present day and Elrond and a few others step up to help their mortal brothers(crappy summary)
1. Default Chapter

"They need your help."

"Well, don't I feel special."

"Your sarcasm has grown just as theirs has over the years, old Peredhil."

They walked side by side in the growing darkness as the sun set and cast their shadows lengthily along the ground. The taller of the two had an impatient look on his face while his companion was smiling.

"They have so many problems, just as they always have, why should I now find it so urgent to go to their aid, hmm?" Elrond said, looking to the horizon which blazed with red.

"This problem may concern you more than through bloodlines." Manwë said softly, also gazing the direction of the horizon.

His words caught Elrond's attention and he looked to the Vala inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"You've not noticed? You have been without your true power for too long."

Elrond thought about it a moment. He was confused by what his true power meant.

Seeing that Elrond did not understand, he quietly recited a verse, which had haunted all whom dwelled on the earth for thousands of years. 

"_Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,  
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,  
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,  
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne  
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.  
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,  
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them  
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."_

Elrond froze as his eyes cleared and showed something which had not been seen in them for over a millennia...fear. He looked to the Vala who stood before him as his breathing matched his rapid heartbeats. "Why do you speak those words..."Manwë said nothing. "You know the darkness is gone, why do you speak those words!" The elf hollered.

"We felt it not long ago, a stirring, an awakening, a _rebirth_."

"Where?" He managed to get out.

"In the east...in the world of the second born."

Elrond looked around for a moment as if searching for the words. "But there is no way he could return, the ring-."

"The ring went into the fire, oh, truer words were never spoken!...But there was never question of it's strength, of his, so it seems foolish to me that the first born, held highest by Ilúvatar, would be stupid enough to think it so easy a thing to destroy."

The magnitude of the words sunk into the elf's mind as he sat upon a bench outside his house. Again, he looked to the horizon, slightly blocked by the now looming figure of the Vala and it seemed not so beautiful. It seemed like the skies over the formerly formidable Mordor.

~*~

Many thankies to my fav. smut monkey, Clio, for helping with the name, it's much appreciated;)

Look for longer chappies, this is just an introductory one to see how you, the reviewies spark to it;) so, review and pass along any ideas if you have the mind!

  



	2. Change of Pace

"Are you certain you heard him correctly?"

"It would take one daft elf to not listen attentively when Manwë speaks and what he said, I heard quite clearly."

The former High King's brows knitted as he leaned on the windowsill and looked out to the east. The ocean was crystal clear and their world seemed, as it should, perfect. 

"So...what are we supposed to? Go back to Middle Earth?"

A smirk flitted on Elrond's face for a second. "Apparently it's not called middle earth anymore."

Gil-galad looked at him curiously. "Then what the Mandos is it called?"

"North America, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa, Antarctica, and Europe. But if you wanted to go into more detail, well, there's many countries within those." Elrond replied, trying to remember all the names he had been given.

"So it will be a far stones throw from Middle Earth..." Gil-galad said, slightly confused and worried.

Elrond looked at his friend. "Well, if nothing else, it will be an adventure, old friend...you don't suppose anyone else would like to join us do you?" He asked, a devilish look on his face.

The elder elf returned the look as they arose and went to inquire the whereabouts of their significant others. 

~*~

"Brí?" Elrond said quietly as he peeked his head in the door of their room. 

"I'm in here herven." From her mirror, she watched her husband come in and wrap his arms about her shoulders. She smiled and laid down the quill with which she had been writing a letter to her son. "You look like you're about to do something you shouldn't..."

Elrond kissed her cheek and looked at her a moment before he asked something of her. But his eyes were quickly drawn to the very faint scar on her cheek, one of the only marks of her brutal treatment thousands of years ago that still remained. And suddenly, what he was asking of her seemed too much.

Unwrapping his arms from her, Elrond stood and looked at her in the mirror. Somehow lying to his wife was easier if he wasn't truly looking her in the eyes.

"I'm going to sail a ways out north for a few weeks with Gil-galad. We both...want some tie to ourselves, away from our duties here..."

Celebrían looked at him curiously as her quill scratched at the paper once more. "Why don't I join you, my duties have been tiring as well these past years. A vacation would do me well."

As his throat got dryer, Elrond thought about what to say exactly. "But...but it...wouldn't...be, um, right as Ereinion and I spend so little time with one another and this cruise is a chance for us to get reacquainted!" Realizing his reply was a bit to enthusiastic; Elrond narrowed his brow and slouched his shoulders. "Though I will miss you dearly."

Celebrían laughed at Elrond before walking to him and laying a light kiss on his lips. "El, Manwë came to speak with me and my parents after he spoke with you. I know about the ring and I knew at that moment what you would decide." She let the smile fade from her face a bit. "And I know why you did not want me to accompany you."

Elrond's throat dried ever so slightly as he replied quietly, ashamed that he had lied no matter what the reason. "I am sorry, meleth nin...I just...."

She stood, silenced him and laid a soft kiss upon his cheek. "I am going, watching the race of men bumble their way through the 13th age is something to funny to miss." A laugh escaped her lips as she went to her dresser. 

Elrond's mind drifted back to the time he had first come to Aman and how she had seemed so much more at ease. Her time here had healed her.

~*~

Ereinion looked at the woman before him for a long while before he let his presence be known, though he eventually went to her and paused her hands at the harp's strings. He whispered in her ear of a land far away where mighty kingdoms had risen and fallen, where great wars had decided the fate of thousands, where his life had once both begun and ended. He spoke to her of a journey.

Her long golden hair was rustled by his strong hands as they cupped her face and brought her lips to meet his.

"Edenwe...thank you."

"Ereinion..." was her only reply before their lips met once more.

~*~

"Do you intend to go?"

"That is not the question, I asked if you did."

"I will go where you go and if you choose to return, then I will follow."

Galadriel looked at her husband and smiled at him deeply. She entwined their hands across the table. "I would not ask you to go back if you did not wish to."

Celeborn brushed a few golden strands of hair away from her eyes and stroked her face with his thumb. "I wish to go, if for nothing more than to see how they've turned out, so much time alone, with no help from the other races."

Galadriel's grin spread to her husband's face quickly, "I wonder if there is any more dwarves still milling about." and then quickly faded at the mention of dwarf.

~*~

It was not long before the seven elves were ready to go to the land across the ocean. With the three-elven rings of power on their rightful owner's fingers, the greeted Manwë in front of a large ship. It's design was odd, extremely bulky and, in Elrond's opinion, down right ugly.

He didn't recognize it to be a simple fishing trawler which the crafty Vala had 'borrowed' from a dock in Port Morris complete with three stout crewmen who weren't sure exactly where they were or what they were doing there.

After the group had been sailing a while and Elrond's sea legs escaped him; everyone thought it best to talk about a plan of action to lift his mind off of the waves. Naturally, Everyone looked to the Vala.

Manwë said that the first order of business would be lodging. 

"You will go in search of an apartment-."

Ereinion's hand went up. "What is an...apartment?"

"A space in a building containing rooms for cooking, sleeping and...veging."

Ereinion didn't have to put his hand up.

"Veging...is the act of relaxation in one's apartment or at a restaurant or entertainment establishment."

"A restaurant?" Elrond queried.

"A place where food is prepared for you for which you then pay."

The elves gathered decided not to ask any more questions concerning aspects of life in the new world.

"Anyway, after you have found apartments you should seek employment as the funds I have massed will surely not do you long, I am certain 17 billion dollars does not get you far there."

The elves nodded as though they were receiving knowledge from their teacher.

"Once you have found a job, I want you to become well aquatinted with the various parts of their culture. Their entertainment, their family structures, their legal system, their mapping system, their music, their history, their...lingo."

Ereinion raised his hand again. "One would think that we know all there is to know of their culture and history, we did live it after all."

A devilish and evil smile spread across Manwë's face. "You think you know...oh you think you know. Tell me, former King of this great land, what does...dude...mean? hmm? What of sweet?"

A laugh escaped the elf. "Sweet, something which is pleasant tasting-."

"Wrong!" Manwë boomed. "Sweet is expressed in exclamation when something good happens. Tell me, what is...baseball?"

"Huh?" Came the unified reply.

"Are you...Yankees fans? Hmm? Well you better be or else you won't survive the streets of New York. And you better be a fan of the Knicks as well. Don't forget your local politicians either, did you love or hate Rudi Giuliani? Do you think that communism works? Well?!?!" Manwë's brow was twitching for a moment before he regained his composure.

Celebrían gulped as he continued.

"Anyway, I journeyed there a while ago and acquired some clothing for you."

"What for, we already have clothing." Celeborn said, slightly smiling at the absurdity of the garments in the Vala's hands.

"Yes but one must never underestimate the importance of going...incognito." Manwë said, toying with the word a bit.

Ereinion looked at him with a sly smile. "You were there, did you wear these garments?"

The Vala's face became slightly blank as he sighed. "No, and that is why I know the importance of going...incognito...."

Elrond took on his friend's grin. "In other words...."

"In other words...I stuck out like a sore thumb."

All the elves gathered in the ships lower decks looked at him with raised brows.

"Your thumb...was sore? I do not understand, was this due to the whether there?"

Giving another deep sigh, Manwë shook his head and handed them their clothing.

Elrond looked at the dark blue pullover on top of his pile of garments. Holding a pair of dark blue jeans, Celeborn smiled. Ereinion was hooked on his tunic that had no fastenings or embroidery work, had short sleeves and the slogan 'Bite Me' written across the front. Edenwe smiled at the long green skirt splayed out over her legs. Celebrían smiled happily at her billowy white shirt and light green khakis as her mother looked with contentment upon her black trench coat. Picking up an object from his pile, Elrond looked confused and looked up to Manwë.

The baseball cap was a black and had the 'Yankees' on it.

"It's a hat...which you wear upon your head."

Elrond narrowed his eyes at him.

"Now," The Vala started, clapping his hands together, "we will have to do some thing with your hair..."

Elrond's hand instantly went to his braids. "What of our hair?"

The evil grin came back to Manwë's face as he produced a pair of scissors and an odd thing which buzzed when he flicked a switch on it's handle.

An hour and twenty minutes later...

Celeborn sat shaking his head as he ran his hand over his very short hair. Elrond played with a few of his tiny strands, wondering why their was sticky goo in it while Ereinion grinned, content with his three inch long hair, nicely styled by Edenwe.

Galadriel rubbed her husband's back, her golden tresses thankfully untouched as Celebrían looked at the ends of her hair, freshly curled. Edenwe's hair was still straight and golden in colour, which she was also very thankful for.

Manwë sat looking at them, dressed in baggy jeans, pullovers, jeans jackets, and t-shirts. He pulled from one of his own pockets three small leather pouches, two slightly larger leather pouches and a very tiny backpack. He handed them to their respective owners.

"Hold on to those. Within are your birth certificates and health care cards but you will also have to acquire driver's licenses and social insurance cards."

Celeborn snickered. "The mortals need certificates to be born." He whispered to Galadriel.

"Quite sad actually." She replied.

Elrond sat playing with the chain attached to his jeans and wallet as they waited for the boat to arrive in New York. Everyone found a reason not to talk, be it playing with some part of their strange clothing or their hair. 

They were all frightened now, of what the new world would be like.

~*~*~*~

Edenwe-New faith

Meleth nin-My love

Okay, this one was fun what with getting to play dress-up with all my elfies and make them ask stupid questions;)

Again, if you have any suggestions, pass 'em along, this is too much fun to write alone;) 


	3. Future Perhaps?

When the boat docked, the elves climbed off and were followed by the Vala, ignoring the queer looks from the men tying the boat to the dock. At first, the simply stood and stared. The buildings before them were towering and packed so tightly together that you could not see past the first few. It was also loud...very loud. 

Manwë looked grumpy as he adjusted his own hearing. "Great, rush-hour." He grumbled before heading up the dock.

Following like children, the elves looked in wonder at the various signs advertising everything from Coke to CK Jeans. They also stayed at a fair distance from the road, as they'd never seen things that looked like cars and moved so fast. 

Flipping through a newspaper, Manwë stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the lights to change as the elves observed the ritual of crossing the street. 

"Aha!" The Vala exclaimed, folding over the newspaper and reading an add out loud. "Six lofts available, one bedroom and bathroom only but a great view of the Hudson-."

"Who's Hudson and why would anyone want a view of him?" Edenwe asked, looking at all the people filing past them on the side walk.

"Maybe the apartments are meant for women only and Hudson is cute." Celebrían said, giggling as the men looked at her.

"The Hudson...is a river and one that is not far away at that. Let's go and have a look at these lofts." Manwë said, tucking the paper under his arm and stepping off the sidewalk. Once again, the elves followed, snickering about the rivers odd name and Edenwe's joke.

~*~

The lofts were large for New York but small compared to anything from middle earth, though they did have a very nice view of the Hudson.

"They're small." Ereinion said without hesitation.

"Not surprising, even in their days of youth the race of men were fond of sterile surroundings." Elrond added, gazing out the very large windows before him.

"I think it's stunning architecture, it makes me think of making love." 

"Hmm? How so?" Celeborn asked of his daughter's observation.

Raising her hand to the flowing beams above them she said, "look, everything, every curve, leads to the bedroom."

A smirk crossed Manwë's face as he came to stand next to her. "You have an eye for the design of buildings...considering architecture as a career might be in your best interest."

"Ah, yes, we must acquire employment here." Gil-galad said absentmindedly, taking a peek out the window and quickly stepping back.

"Yes, which I expect you to do within this week." Manwë said, getting his checkbook out of his pocket pants and heading towards the door. 

"What week is this?" Galadriel inquired, stopping the Vala before he stepped out. Manwë tossed the paper to her and left. "March 23rd, 2000. Why do you suppose they have 2000 after the date?" She asked, reading the headlines.

"It's quite possible that's what year they think it is." Elrond said, smirking a little.

"Stupid humans." Celeborn commented as he peered over his wife's shoulder.

Just then, Manwë walked back through the door, the owner of the lofts in tow. "You can pay for the three all...right now?" The man was dumbfounded by the amount on the check in front of him.

"Is that not enough?" 

"No...nononono, it's a fine amount. You can take possession next week...that's when I'll of...uh, moved out."

With a polite wave, Manwë watched him go. "Odd little fellow... anyway, let us find suitable lodgings for the time being."

Galadriel looked up from the paper. "You know someone in New York?"

"No," he replied, "but they have the beauty of over priced accommodations."

~*~

Walking down the streets, their gaze was again drawn to so many things it almost became confusing. Every building they passed seemed the same yet different and night seemed as day for all the lights would stay lit throughout it.

Turning a corner, all the elves covered their ears as a vehicle much larger than any they'd seen, sped past them, red lights blazing, sirens screaming. Ereinion, however, looked at it when it came and watched it turn the corner. "That looks like fun." He said quietly.

"It is fun."

Spinning around, everyone looked at the man standing before a large opening. His clothing was different from everyone else's and strips on it reflected the light from above.

"There's alought of horsepower inside one o' those, take a pretty tight corner too, if you pull it just right."

Ereinion looked back in the direction the fire engine had just gone and back. "There's alought of...horsepower in it?"

"350, diesel, great engine." The man said, also giving a quick look in the direction.

"Then why aren't you out...driving it?"

"Injury, I love being a firefighter but you can take more than a few days of disability off...well, great meeting you...um,"

"Gil." Ereinion offered, taking the man's hand firmly.

"Gil...I'm John. Hey, if you ever need directions around the city, just stop by and ask."

"You think I would need directions?"

John smiled. "Talking like that, with that accent? Yeah, you just might." Laughing, the firefighter turned with a wave, picked up an air tank and headed back into the hall.

Ereinion looked around a bit longer before Elrond tugged him along.

~*~

Their hotel was decent and allowed them to see mans more modern bathroom...which no one complained about. But they were deprived of sleep until Manwë had fully described the virtues of credit and banking...and fully warned about debt. 

Crawling into bed next to their spouses, the elves slept heavily though all were concerned about not having the Vala around the next day. Manwë had business to attend to downtown, which left the six elves to fend for themselves in the big apple...though they weren't entirely sure why there was a big apple involved.

~*~*~*~

That same night, in a skyscraper so high up, all of New York was visible from its highest offices, a man was pacing.

"What do you mean? How could they loose? Grrr."

"I'm sorry Sir but you knew this case was not on our side before you even took it...and handing it to two rookies like Taylor and Maylan-."

"Duke?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Shut up."

The man, clothed in a dark suit, sat down in his leather chair, spinning it around to look out the window. His male secretary stood waiting, contemplating flipping him the bird.

"Mr. Seerin, Sir?"

The man looked back from the window. Standing up, he twirled his char around and grinned at his secretary, making him feel a bit uncomfortable. "Duke...."

He looked at his boss, a little afraid. "Ye...yes Sir?"

"They have names. Tell Michael and Elizabeth that I gave them this case so they could stretch their wings a little. I liked their closing argument very much, they did a good job."

Duke let out a shaky breath. "I will Sir, I'm sure they'll be happy to hear that from you...which is purely a figure of speech, I will of course deliver the message."

The man smiled again. "Thank you Duke...oh, and Duke?"

Duke, who reluctantly turned around to face his boss again, said, "Yes Sir?"

The man lifted his arms up from his sides. "Use their names for Pete's sake! We don't want to come of like we don't care, now do we?"

Duke swallowed and shook his head. "No Sir."

The man dropped his arms and looked at his secretary. "Now go home, you're making me cranky."

Duke opened the door and left, leaving his boss to sit on his desk and admire the night sky. "Duke, Duke, Duke, you remind me of a pesky little elf I once had to deal with." The man said in a whisper, narrowing his eyes a little. "He just kept coming and coming, never leaving you alone to accomplish even one little insignificant feat...and just when it seems you might have filled his shoes and made me proud of your abilities as Royal Pain in the ass...he...decides...to...," the man picked up a metal sculpture from his desk and bent it in two, "pay me a visit...not only that!" the twisted sculpture hit the door at such velocity that it stuck into it. "He brings a few rookie pains in the ass with him! Oh Joy, Oh Bliss!" He yelled.

Duke stuck his head inside the door, coat slung over his arm. "Did you knock for me Sir?"

The man let his shoulders fall as he looked at his assistant. "No, did you hear the official place-your-lips-on-my-ass bell ring Duke?"

The assistant sighed. "No Sir."

"Well then, I guess you're free to go for the night." He said with a grin.

"Thank you Sir."

Hearing the door click shut, the Man sighed. "I liked that statue...."

~*~*~

Ok, I need some reader response. Do you guys like Manwë in the fic or can he go? Just pass that along in your review, thanks.

And for the record, yes, Alena there is SIX elfies...what can I say, the Angsty Vala failed ECS;)lol


	4. Getting Adjustid

"Going? What do you mean going? You cannot go!" Celebrían said in a voice she commonly used to make Elrond do something he absolutely refused to.

Manwë sighed as he heaved a large box over his shoulder and brought it into the loft. His jeans and white shirt were tight and dampened with sweat, leaving little to the imagination and displaying the Vala's incredible, unearthly beauty. This went, of course, completely unnoticed by Celebrían as she followed him through the door, carrying a smaller box filled with books.

Grunting as he set the box down, Manwë wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at Celebrían dully. "Jersey is not far, Jersey is to New York as the Misty Mountains were to Imladris as far as distance is concerned."

She was about to protest further... had a rather rude shout not came from her and Elrond's bedroom. They found him sitting beside a heap of mahogany wood, cursing a storm of profanities as he attempted to assemble their bed frame.

"Ikea, who ever he is, will feel my wrath, so help me Ilúvatar, I will have retribution for this unjust and unprovoked hell on earth!" His growl nearly rattled the windowpanes but he continued to bolt together the pieces, muttering as he did.

Manwë cocked an eyebrow at the elf but turned from him to his wife. "I will leave you a phone number where you can reach me at any time but for now, I cannot be in New York, I need to oversee the offices in New Jersey."

He left her then and went to check in on her parents whom they had moved in earlier in the day.

Celebrían walked into the room, which she found quite lovely now that there were plants and draperies within it, and began to knead her husband's tense shoulders.

"Calm yourself, husband, it is the last of the furniture labelled 'assembly required'."

Elrond narrowed his eyes at the L shaped piece of frame he had constructed and engraved the blue and yellow Ikea label onto his brain, vowing never to forget it.

Manwë gave a light knock on the door numbered 1302 and waited patiently. When no one answered, he turned the knob and peered inside but found no one within the living room. He grumbled and went immediately to the only room when he heard soft murmurs coming from that direction. Again, he courteously knocked on the door and was happy when someone answered this time.

Celeborn gave him a half hearted smile as he let him into their room, now painted a glowing white with several silver leaf and vine patterns stencilled across the walls.

"Sorry for not answering the door, we were talking."

"Not paying attention, no matter." Manwë replied, waving him off. 

Celeborn stretched out on his side of the bed and watched the Vala approach his wife.

"I have watched packs of wargs as they go about their feeding and mating and other daily rituals. These humans remind me much of them." Galadriel said quietly. She looked much as she had thousands of years ago with a soft, white cotton skirt and blouse. 

"I have tried searching for even a whisper of the unspeakable evil that Sauron would bring and do you know what I have found?"

Manwë looked down at her and shook his head slightly.

Galadriel sighed and looked from his face to the buildings across the river. "I have found the thoughts of men, vulgar, horrifying thoughts...but they are not even remotely linked to the Dark Lord. These thoughts belong to men, ordinary men who walk the streets and think of violation and slaying of their brothers and sisters, of their children even." She breathed in a shuttering breath and looked back to him. "How do we save the race of men from the threat of themselves? If he should reappear as Annatar, they would accept him readily and without question...and he would rule them through their greed and their violence."

Manwë met her clear blue eyes easily. "That is not all that you saw."

Celeborn listened intently, though he appeared to be dozing, his wife knew better. She looked to him and smiled before speaking again. " I saw visions of proud parents who would die for the safety of their children's futures, a few who seek out justice within the confines of the law and a few who seek without it and people who create works of beauty within the bars of a cruel world. But those visions are few." She finished, her face blank.

"They may surprise you yet, Alatáriel, they have grown, though not always in the right direction." He whispered, looking down at the sparkling river below.

~*~

"Hurry up Ereinion! You're going to be late!" Edenwe's call came from the living room of their loft and oozed impatience.

Of all the elves, his chosen vocation seemed the most outlandish. Elrond was studying for a degree in teaching, something he scoffed at, having taught many without a slip of paper saying he could do so. Celebrían was attending Hudson U along side her husband, studying for a degree in design and architecture. Celeborn was struggling with his decision but was quickly leaning towards a career in the military while Galadriel began her studies in Botany at the same university as her daughter. Edenwe had first thought of art and as such, was studying at New York's art institute. But Gil-galad had no intention of sitting in a desk and reading books on subjects that, quite frankly, seemed more boring than his father's speeches back in the day. He wanted things that challenged him both physically and mentally. So, not long after their first trip into the downtown core of New York, Ereinion sought out the man, John, who worked at what Ereinion learned to be the local firehouse, number 105, ladder 22. 

He was a fireman. He drove a big truck and put out fires. More importantly, he helped people and, on occasion, saved lives. Why there were not more people attracted to this job, Ereinion didn't understand. John explained that it had something to do with the pay.

The only bad thing about this new found love of the fire fighter was that it required much of his time. Edenwe had become upset with him after he told her the long, horrible hours he had while he was in training now would last into when he actually started the job. Needless to say, their relationship was tense at the moment.

Ereinion flew out of the bathroom and grabbed the backpack Edenwe handed him before pecking her on the cheek. "I'll be home at around five tonight, I'll cook dinner, promise."

She watched him speed out the door before she even got the chance to respond.

~*~

Elrond sat in an uncomfortable desk, listening to the professor at the head of the class speak about the literary classics and how they effected the writing styles of the present. He was, naturally, quite bored. All the classics he was speaking of may as well have been created yesterday in Elrond's mind. These great writers also had no feel for story telling, he could tell. All the love stories were either tragic and ended with both lovers dying, or terribly romantic and humorous, ending with the lovers living happily ever after. There were no great battles in between, just inane babble, cooing and angst. His own romance had occurred over a great many years and had been wound up in the battle for middle earth. It had all the elements of a great story.

This Shakespeare fellow seemed clueless to the elf but he paid attention to the professor anyway.

As his mind went over the information he was receiving, something stuck out.

J.R.R. Tolkien's '_The Lord of the Rings_'

His head perked up and his left ear twitched, something Celebrían always teased him about when he was paying attention to something.

This book told the tale of the battle for middle earth by men fighting against the dark lord. 

Elrond's pencil snapped in his hand, causing everyone about him to cast an annoyed glance to him before turning back to the professor.

Using his half pencil, Elrond wrote down everything he heard and committed it to memory just in case. 

In a room two halls over from the English labs, a tall, slender and stunningly beautiful woman glanced over the textbook pages showing the basic structure of plant cells and how they differed from animal cells. Galadriel and the other women in the class were the only ones concentrating on their work as the men seemed preoccupied with looking at her. She remained unaware, however, as a thought stuck out from the haze around her. 

The One Ring, Dark Lord, Middle Earth...Tolkien? 

'Who the hell?' Galadriel looked in the direction of the English labs and sensed a panic coming from her son in law. Mentally grumbling, she turned back to her book and willed time to go faster. He obviously had just learned something new and important concerning Sauron; something which he could not share with her because they were both stuck in class.

Her aggravation must have shown on her face because a young man next to her leaned over and asked if she needed help understanding the diagrams. She politely replied that she didn't and returned to her brooding thoughts as the young man's shoulders slumped.

~*~

At a little past twelve, a group of tall and rather good looking students congregated around one of the tables in the campus dining hall. The spoke in a hushed tone, which was good as they were all speaking sindarin in their state of panic.

"This Tolkien, did it sound like he could be in league with Sauron?"

"I don't know, all professor Collins said was that he wrote an epic novel, created his own world and languages and people, which, by the way, is a load of crap. The world and everything on it was Ilúvatar's creation but this...Tolkien fellow is claiming all the credit for it!"

Edenwe, Galadriel and Celebrían all looked at Elrond quizzically.

"Elrond, meleth nin, I think you need to spend less time with the younger humans here."

Galadriel nodded before continuing. "We must investigate this Tolkien character and find out what his motives were for writing this book."

"We can use the internet!" Edenwe perked up.

Elrond, Celebrían and Galadriel all looked at Edenwe quizzically. 

"It's a tool on computer machines. You can find all manners of information using it." She explained

Elrond, Celebrían and Galadriel all looked at Edenwe quizzically.

"Ereinion showed me, his Firemen friends showed him."

Elrond, Celebrían and Galadriel blinked. Edenwe sighed.

"Never mind, meet me at the main doors after you all finish your classes and we'll go to the library. I'll show you there."

The four elves went back to their food in silence. The internet was not discussed further.

~*~

Celeborn read over the information he had been given and frowned. The army seemed the perfect setting for an elf such as himself but, as he had learned, you were subject to relocation at any time. This would not do.

Grumbling, the silver haired elf left the recruitment centre, much to the relief of the other men and women their who were all intimidated by the well over six-feet tall, miraculously silver haired man with pointy ears and broad shoulders. He looked rather disgruntled and liable to lay the boot to anyone who got in his way.

~*~

Ereinion sat on the bumper of a ladder truck. He thought it a simple enough name. The big truck had a really big ladder on the back. 

It was the first note on the top of his page. He'd snickered when they bought the books filled with ruled paper, commenting that the humans couldn't write straight. But he'd went with it anyway. Now the light blue lines held his thin, delicate and beautifully precise script, outlining all the basic equipment of the fireman.

They dealt mainly with two kinds of vehicles. The Ambulance, commonly referred to as the Bus, and the Ladder trucks, which carried their equipment and a ladder on the back. 

Ereinion was itching to get a chance at getting behind the wheel of the rig. It was big, shiny and red...and it made very neat, loud noises when it was started.

Underneath all the notes he had on the rig, were the notes Ereinion had accumulated concerning personal equipment such as the gas masks and oxygen tanks. He was finishing up a note on the oxygen tanks when the older fireman who was instructing them held up an odd looking tool.

"This, boys and girls, is a Halligan."

Ereinion looked upon the odd bar in the fireman's hand with something akin to awe. It looked like a deadly weapon with a spike jutting out from the side of the head, which stuck foreword. The head at the bottom resembled the back of a framer's hammer.

The only elf in the group loved it immediately. Ereinion didn't bother writing anything down save the name of the tool as he listened intently to every word concerning the Halligan.

"This is the most versatile and valuable tool in every fireman's possession. There are few sticky situations which you can get yourself into which this thing can get you out of."

Ereinion pondered those words, recalling how many times he had said the same to young warriors in regards to his beloved Aeglos.

~*~

Edenwe's studies were proving to be more... provocative ...than she would ever had thought they could be. 

Before her and those also attending the class, was a man, dressed in denim pants, which, in her opinion, were at least one size too small. His pose flexed the muscles of his lower abdomen and shoulders, clearly visible as he was without his shirt.

"You must learn to accent every curve with the proper light and shadow as it is naturally. This includes the hair as much as the muscle. Don't be afraid if your first drawings don't look exactly like the model, we will all work together to bring out your full potential."

Edenwe found she had no problems accenting every...curve...but found it very difficult to pay attention to what the instructor was saying. She was certain she was blushing as she drew the wrinkles in the crotch of the jeans of the model.

She was used to drawing portraits, many of which were well known throughout Aman. The rest of her subject's body usually was of little interest to her, her charcoal and her paper. With humans, all of the figure should be learned.

"Wow, it would appear we have a budding talent already, good work...ah, Edenwe was it?" The instructor asked as he peered over her shoulder.

Edenwe could only nod and pray that he didn't notice her blush intensify.

~*~

"Why are we here again?" Celeborn asked, staring up at the giant building as the six elves walked up its massive steps.

"Looking for information on...what was his name again? Token?" Ereinion asked, looking to Edenwe. She gazed back at him, willing her eyes to say that she was sorry they were not dining at home at the moment.

"Tolkien. Plus, this library is exceptionally large." Elrond replied happily, also staring up at the large structure.

Celebrían smiled at her husband as they entered through the doors of the library.

"So...you input information using keys which represent the letters and numbers of the humans alphabet and this...machine...knows which is which and displays information you seek based upon what you put in?" Galadriel asked, confusing even herself as she looked at the computer with a raised brow.

Ereinion nodded slightly. "You can also use it to keep track of your finances and writings in a much more efficient manner."

"Give me quill and parchment any day and I shall be content." Elrond snorted from behind him as he leaned on the computer chair.

Ereinion shrugged as he typed 'Tolkien' into a search engine and read the description of the first result that came up.

"The Unofficial Committee for More Elrond and Celebrían fan-fiction (we do not make any claim on these characters, they belong to JRR Tolkien) seeks to encourage writers to create more stories on Elrond or/and Celebrían, discusses their relationship, Elves in general, Middle-earth, Tolkien, writing and anything else that is brought up."

The elves blinked.

Ereinion clicked the link.

The elves blinked again.

Ereinion clicked a link to a current thread on the subject 'Bob and Elrond.'

The elves blinked.

And remained in silence until...

"Where the hell did a..._plastic _Balrog come from, what's a Tfoeg, why is this plastic Balrog inspirational to the point of becoming a muse and why is she screwing with characters mental states?" Celeborn blurted out.

"Why the hell is there a committee concerning my husband and I?" Celebrían asked, slightly indignant.

"Why the hell are they discussing you all in armour?" Edenwe growled.

"I don't know, but this group here might prove an effective ally in tracking down Sauron as they seem to be devoted to the ideals which we uphold." Ereinion said, turning in his chair to face them.

"I think they're more devoted to US than to the ideals we uphold." Galadriel said, reading over some of the posts from the group.

"Well, we're looking into acquiring a computer of our own, maybe it would be worthwhile looking into on-line communities such as these for information." Ereinion said as he exited the browser.

"It might be a good start in our search for the dark lord in any case." Galadriel replied.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Alatáriel-Another name of Galadriel's, used before she took that name

Okay, thanks go to the UCMEC, you guys are all just so nuts and inspiring and I knew I could actually throw you in here because of the setting, so, here you are;)

Special thanks to Beth; I believe it was actually you who started the whole bob thing without knowing to what insane heights we would bring it. I needed to throw bob in too;)

I'm also putting out a plea to my reviewers. I can't figure out where to stick Celeborn, what do you guys see him doing here?

I'd also like to know what, if any, other elfies you'd like to see on middle earth.


	5. Little Things Of Business

"Rape, murder in the first, manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, ooh, rape again! I love these humans." The man called Mr. Seerin was flipping through the messages from his clients and rather enjoying the predicaments they had got themselves into. The violence within this city was practically palpable and he loved it.

A knock then sounded on the door as Duke poked his head through. "The stock exchange just opened sir."

Seerin looked up with interest. "How are shares in our company selling?"

"Pretty well so far sir." Duke replied, stepping in slightly, making no commitment to stay any longer than he had to. Seerin made a sound of approval. "Stocks in Ikea just dropped a dollar sir, people are selling like crazy..."

"Ooh, buy as many as you can." Seerin said perkily. 

Duke looked at him oddly. "Sir, they just dropped a dollar-."

"They won't drop any further, buy now. I'm looking to organise a hostile take-over of Ikea." Seerin said matter-of-factly.

Duke stared for a second before leaving the office to go and make the necessary calls.

Seerin thought about his upcoming acquisition and smiled, he always was fond of Ikea furniture.

~*~

Gil-galad was stretched languidly across his and Edenwe's bed, covered in a sheet drawn up to his waist alone. Though he had not been able to give Edenwe the promised dinner, they had a rather amusing time involving strawberries and whip-cream...which tended not to be used on the said berries but rather the flesh of a certain former king. He had not protested.

Now, with his head propped up on a pillow, he watched Edenwe free herself of her robe and crawl underneath the sheet with him. He kissed her forehead as he wrapped an arm over her.

"Mmm, my king is snugly in the morn." She said quietly.

Ereinion ran his hand up her arm, massaging the silky flesh lightly. "Funny, I feel sticky."

Edenwe smiled before kissing his chest near his collarbone. She ran her fingers over every line and curve of his chest before rising and going out to their living room. Ereinion watched her return curiously with her sketchbook and art pencils in hand. 

Wrapping a half of the sheet about herself and subsequently drawing more of it away from Gil's body, Edenwe opened the large, hardcover book and drew her pencil across the paper.

"The art course is going well I take it?" He asked, not moving for her convenience.

"Yes, I find that drawing the body of a subject is as fascinating as drawing the face thanks to Pietro."

Gil-galad fixed her with an odd stare. "Who's Pietro?" He attempted to ask innocently.

"My instructor." Edenwe replied simply, shading in the area around his abdomen.

He said nothing, merely made a note of the name and that he had to remember to pick Edenwe up from class one day so he could 'meet' this Pietro.

~*~

"What the Mandos is that?" Elrond asked as he read over his wife's shoulder as she raised a coffee cup to her lips.

The three couples now all had computers with which they were tracking down information on the Tolkien, as he had come to be known, using the UCMEC list. They had decided to get a bearing of what was known through literature before searching the rest of the 'Net' for what it would bring.

Elrond's particular comment concerned a discussion currently in progress within the list. Celebrían was giggling.

"I wonder if Ereinion has read this yet, he will surely have the head of this...Nemis." Elrond growled.

"I doubt it, my love, Edenwe has a somewhat...kinky taste when it comes to her lovers clothing." She continued giggling.

Elrond blanched.

"Lighten up love."

"They're discussing what form of undergarment I wear, does this not bother you in the least?"

"Slightly, but I can see why they do." Celebrían replied before turning to kiss him and snapping the band of his black silk boxers. "Have you learned anything new about the tomes of Tolkien?" She inquired after their kiss as she tied the belt of his robe.

"We're reading it for a project. I'm supposed to write a paper on how the themes and morals of the book relate to today's world. Ironic." Elrond grumbled as he pulled up a chair next to the computer desk.

"But other than that?"

"Nothing much, I'm still in the shire." Elrond replied. Celebrían looked at him oddly. "In the book, I'm still in the part of the book concerning Bilbo's birthday."

"The Tolkien bothered to put that in there?" Celebrían asked.

"It has to do with bringing out Frodo as a character and the time when he acquired the ring." He shrugged in reply. "Who started this bloody boxer conversation?" This growl was directed towards the computer, which offered no answer.

~*~

"I don't understand why you are making such a big deal out of this, Celeborn."

"Because I do not have employment and no matter how hard I ponder it, I cannot think of what I wish to do here."

Galadriel sighed. Her husband's predicament was very understandable but highly annoying. The worst of it all was that she didn't know what to say to him in order to help. 

She looked to the computer desk and smiled. "Why do you not seek training in computer skills, love?"

"Because I hate them." Celeborn stated plainly.

Galadriel groaned. "Then why do you not seek Manwë's council on the subject?"

Celeborn huffed. "He's all the way over in Jersey...wherever that is, how will I find my way through uncharted places of this world to find him?"

Galadriel groaned once more before holding up a hand and placing a finger on his lips to silence him. She then took one of his hands, led him over to the telephone and picked up the receiver in it. "You needn't go on some valiant quest to seek the wisdom of the Valar, you could simply call him."

Celeborn looked down at the phone, something he had been reluctant to become acquainted with. "His...um, number was what again?"

Galadriel pointed to the top of the speed-dial-list. Written in Quenya so neat it could only have been the lady of the golden woods, was Manwë. 

Celeborn chuckled uneasily and held the receiver to his ear as he punched the button for Manwë.

Turning from her husband, Galadriel walked over to the computer and held up a disk labelled 'Windows ME'. The disk had been most perplexing when she found it stuffed under their doorway with a note from Gil-galad saying that it would be a good idea to upgrade their operating system. This was simple enough as any information they had was backed up through a server Manwë had in place. 

She just couldn't figure out if 'Windows Middle Earth' was a tool of the dark lord's and, if so, what she should tell Ereinion.

"You really think?...no, of course it seems a good job...I could?...that would help...yes, thank you." Celeborn said as he hung up the phone. "He thinks I would make a suitable Lawyer...only...I should...'keep my heart' as Manwë put it."

Galadriel considered this for a moment. "What does a lawyer do, exactly?"

Celeborn stared at her a second before looking to the phone. "I...do not know but Manwë said I could intern at his lawyer's office, Michael & Grayson associates, on top of schooling."

He stepped over to the computer and picked up the disc his wife had been contemplating, not wanting to think about the lawyer business anymore. "Windows ME?"

Galadriel shook her head.

~*~

Sometime later, the four college going elves sat around a table in the campus dining hall again as they discussed the relative simplicity of the current courses they were taking. 

"I've already finished half of the projects which were assigned to be finished at the end of the semester. Can you request to finish early?" Galadriel queried though she was certain none gathered would know the answer.

"I have found most of my projects easy enough to complete," Elrond said as Celebrían and Edenwe nodded in agreement, "But I have come to one where I fear I must await Professor Collins' assistance."

"What is it?" Edenwe asked, sipping her slurpee happily.

"Bloody comic books!" Elrond responded with exasperation. 

The group looked at Elrond.

"Books that are...panels of pictures with very few words to explain the story."

"What is so hard about that?" Galadriel asked, looking at him oddly.

Elrond rummaged around in his shoulder-pack before plunking a small, thin book in front of them, which depicted a well-built man in a bright blue suit with a red cape. "I do not understand the literary significance of an a man dressed in blue tights who can fly."

Brí and Edenwe giggled as they flipped through the comic book. Elrond glared. Galadriel cocked her brow.

Clearing her throat, Galadriel spoke again. "Celeborn is...renting a movie...would you like to come over?"

The group looked at Galadriel.

She shrugged. "There's no point in having a DVD player unless you intend to use it."

The group went back to their food.

~*~

Ereinion snuggled down into the plush couch with Edenwe next to him as Elrond and Brí got comfortable on her parent's love seat. Celeborn popped the movie into the player and sat next to Galadriel who leaned heavily into him. They were all expecting a nice quiet night, free of college work and sweating over the issue of Sauron.

"What's the movie love?" Galadriel asked.

"The Matrix, apparently it has a cult following it is so great a cinematic achievement." Celeborn answered.

Ten minutes into the movie, they all sat up in their seats save Elrond.

"What?" He asked.

"That one who is dressed rather dully looks much like you my love." Celebrían said of the agent in sunglasses.

"No he doesn't." Elrond replied.

"Well, with the short hair, he does loose some of his charm."

Elrond considered this for a moment before his brow furrowed as he looked at his wife who kept her eyes glued to the screen and ignored her husbands stare.

Ereinion got up from the couch immediately and went to the computer (Ignoring the Windows ME disc) and searched the net for information on the movie.

"Why are you bothering Ereinion?" Elrond asked.

"Celeborn said this movie had a cult following, maybe the man that looks like you and is evil is in there for a reason." His friend said.

Elrond glared at him but he did not see it. He was too preoccupied with the small print at the bottom of the screen. "The Matrix.... A Black Land production."

The group stared at him.

And stared.

And stared.

~*~

"Mr. Seerin, the CEO of Black Land productions needs your answer on the funding issue for the Reloaded project." Duke said, far to tired to care about any of this but knowing he needed a paycheque never the less.

"Has Weaving agreed to the project?" 

"Yes sir."

"Give them the go-ahead."

Duke nodded and was turning to leave when his boss spoke again.

"Do we have enough of the shares to force the vote on Ikea?" Seerin asked smoothly as he tossed a small rubber ball back and forth in his hands.

"Yes sir, I'll have the papers on your desk in the morning." Again, Duke made to leave but was stopped.

"And the acquisition papers for Michael & Grayson? Did they take the Bid?" The smooth tone continued.

"Ahem...they're holding out sir but I doubt they can last much longer." Duke looked at the floor. He knew Derek Michael and David Grayson. They were good people. They didn't deserve to have their business taken from them.

Seerin nodded and turned towards the window to look out at the city. Duke once more contemplated flipping his boss the bird but calmed himself and left silently.

The city's darkness was welcoming to the lawyer who looked down upon it. It was a good night.

~*~

Next ones up! Just to let you know, I plan to have a separate chapter devoted to the elfies driving experience, promise! Again, any ideas you would like to see, send in the review!


	6. A night out on the townkinda

The day had been hard enough with law school alone and this was certainly not a good end to it. Seated in the corner of a room that was obviously decorated to distract form the boring proceedings within, Celeborn contemplated jumping out the window of the 56th story of the building. This was not the first thought he had given to the idea and probably would not be the last.

His smart business suit was one of the garments Manwë had provided for him on an excursion out to Armani, a frightening tale unto itself. He looked like a duplicate of all the men seated at the large table in the center of the room and it bothered him. 

'The tongues of these lawyers spit out more lies than Annatar could muster in an entire age!' Celeborn thought, watching the two sides talk.

All of the lawyers on the left side of the table were quieter than they usually were. Celeborn was aware that someone was organizing a 'hostile takeover'. When this was told him as his favored companions among the employees gathered about the sacred water cooler that morning, he was surprised that they took it so calmly. He also wondered what else a takeover could be but hostile.

"We must organize the troops, gather arms-." He'd said.

"Take it easy big guy, we did everything we could but when we lost the Bascallie case, all that was left for Seerin industries to do was swoop in and take us out," Paul the litigator had said sadly. 

"Ballistae are highly effective in fighting off aerial assaults…" Celeborn, being a master of the strategy of war was thrown off his kilter by the look his companions gave him and became silent. What they talked of after that seemed of little value when talking about being taken over so he decided that when he and Galadriel went out to dinner that night, they would also make a stop at the local craftsman's.

Until then, he was doomed to sit and watch the 'suits', as they were called affectionately, banter uselessly back and forth.

~*~

Ereinion grumbled…again. He had been in such high spirits because of attaining his license that he had rushed out of the house in the morning, hopped in his new shapely, shinny and slightly cramped VW beetle and started off for the fire academy. Nothing in any driving manual or other instructional material for the roadway had mentioned rush hour. He vaguely recalled Manwë saying something about when they first arrived but he had thought little of it. In his zest to learn to drive in order to ride the shiny, large red beasts commanded by the firemen, he never contemplated city driving without all those flashing red lights to tell people to move.

He thought about it now as he tried to make it home seeing as his legs were cramping and line of traffic was moving at a hobbits pace. Looking dully in his rear view mirror, Ereinion took note of a man gesturing to him with his middle finger.

Sighing at the stupidity of the man, he turned the dial of the radio up, enjoying the sound of the instruments blended so smoothly. 

The preset dial was pressed, changing the station to that of classical music and cutting off one of Ereinion's favorite songs.

Celeborn sat back in the passengers seat and huffed.

"What are you huffing about?" Ereinion growled as he switched back the station.

"Why is this taking so bloody long?" Celeborn spat back, flicking the switch again.

"Because it's rush hour, Cel, in case you didn't notice."

"What a stup'd name for it, nobody's rushin', s'like they've all deliberately slowed down just ta spite the friggen' name of it."

Ereinion grumbled, leaning his elbow on the door. He knew better than to argue with Celeborn when he reverted back to what was called his roughneck accent. Most people didn't know but the formal and paced strides of his tongue were well practiced. Before he'd shared his life with a queen, Celeborn had been worse than Strider.

The green glow of the display flickered back to 98.5 as Ereinion's hand left it just to go back to 103.2 seconds later.

"IT'S MY CAR!" Back to 98.5.

"THEN DRIVE IT!" And again to 103.2.

Ereinion screwed up his face in gruff anger as he coiled up the muscles in his left arm and socked Celeborn in the shoulder.

"Dammit, Gil!" Celeborn roared as he returned the punch in kind.

The drive back to the apartment building was slow and painful for both elves.

~*~

Galadriel's hair was perfect, not a strand out of place but still she sat brushing it rhythmically. She was waiting for her husband. 

The Queen of Lorien never waited on anything, let alone her husband and yet he was not there.

She set down her brush, looked at the clothing she wore in the mirror which she had taken so much care in choosing for her lover and looked straight ahead. Not a flaw upon her face, clothing positioned perfectly, hair glistening down her back like a river of gold. The only thing missing was about six-foot eight of silver haired, rock hard Sindarin standing next to her whispering sweet nothings in her ear. 

Agitated, Galadriel picked up the brush again and began running it through her perfect hair.

When finally she did hear the door open, she went to great her husband but found him looking rather miffed and holding his shoulder.

"What happened to you?" She asked, trying to be sympathetic but keeping the annoyance in her voice known.

"Gil! That's what happn'd! Bloody elf and his pansy mobile, can't stand to be without that crap music….like a friggen' child!" Celeborn was huffing again.

Galadriel, pitying him, went and wrapped her arms about him and nuzzled his cheek right next to his ear. "Poor muffin," she purred, "you kept me waiting."

Celeborn looked at her mischievous grin and gradually one of his own crept over his features. "I will keep you waiting no more, my love." With that he began taking off his jacket but was quickly dragged towards the door.

"Good, let's get a move on then, we might be late for the reservations at Leoene's."

Celeborn grumbled again as he attempted to straighten his tie for the outing…which he definitely did not have in mind.

~*~

Truthfully, he couldn't complain. The food was exquisite for human food. The music played by the small band in the corner was soothing and fitting for the atmosphere and every time their bastard waiter hit on his wife, she would look at him like she had in the apartment and move their clasped hands to make them noticed. Then, with a languid flip of her hair, she would send him away for more water.

In holding with tradition with their 'dates', the former Lord and Lady of Lothlorien went for a walk in the only place that resembled their home even remotely in the urban jungle. 

Anyone who had lived in New York for more than a year, who watched the news and wasn't an elf could have told you flat out that Central Park was not a good place to take your date after dark. 

Celeborn and Galadriel, however, had lived in New York for a couple of months, found the news depressing and were elven down to the last bit of their DNA. Celeborn held Galadriel close with an arm about her shoulders while she held his hand tightly and leaned her head on his cheek. In their former home and even in the West, no one dared disturb them when they saw them about like this.

To a smalltime mugger who had no grasp of the presence they exuded, they were just another up-scale couple with fat wallets. Stepping from the shadows, he pointed the gun square at Celeborn's stomach. "Your money or your lives, pal."

Galadriel and Celeborn looked him up and down pointedly until the mugger began to fidget uncomfortably. Actually jabbing the gun in Celeborn's gut he said, "C'mon man, out with the dough, I don't wanna have to hurt you."

"You…have the intention of hurting…us…?" Galadriel said, crossing her arms and actually staring him down.

The man shook and cocked the firing pin on his weapon. "I…I'm serious, I'll shoot ya."

A look of understanding dawned on Celeborn's face. "Oh! That's a gun, isn't it? Well, we cannot have any of this in such a land," he said, distracting the mugger with a sweeping gesture towards the trees of the park. His hand darted out and snatched the weapon before the mugger could even look back at it. 

Celeborn stood with the gun in one hand…and the mugger in the other by the collar. "Chose the wrong coupl'ta mess with this night, mate," he whispered before he chucked the mugger over a ways, causing him to flip over an iron park bench and into a garbage can chained to a lamp post.

With a swift flick of his fingers, Celeborn undid the front button of his suit jacket, wedged the gun between his abs and his pants and did the jacket up again to conceal it.

"Bravo my knight in shining Armani," Galadriel quipped with a clap of her hands, "as though I couldn't have reduced him to a pile of quivering nerves well enough on my own."

Celeborn turned around and shot her a naughty-boy grin she remembered well from the time they first took up together, "I wanted to spare him."

He walked back and she took his arm again and they continued their walk only to come to a better-lighted and more public place where people were actually milling about. As they tried to make their way through the small crowd, Galadriel became enamored with a small band which had a guitar case open in front of it.

"Oh, minstrels, Celeborn, come and let's listen."

He turned to see her glide effortlessly through the crowd and tried to follow…except that a man stepped in his way and blocked it no matter how many times he attempted to get past him. When Celeborn finally stood still to listen to the man, he said nothing but put his hands up in front of him as if on a wall between them…which Celeborn whished there were. 

The man, in black and white garb with a painted face, then proceeded to act as if trapped in a box, bound by something and as though there were something in his ear which was so long he could never quit get it out.

If any elf that had lived in Lorien were to be asked what their former Lord looked like when he heard the news that his daughter was to be wed to a half-elven, they would have described him at this moment down to the twitch in his jaw muscle.

With all the patience of a father and a ruler, Celeborn stepped up to the box he couldn't see, unsheathed the knife from his belt which wasn't really there, cut a hole in the box, plunged his hand in and dragged the mime's face to the imaginary hole. 

The mime looked down at the calloused hand holding him by his striped collar, then at the other calloused hand holding something he believed in his mind to be quite pointy and then at the face which held the grin of a madman on a trigger-happy killing spree. Stepping back when he was released, the mime quickly made his way to the other end of the crowd.

Standing up straight and sighing contentedly, Celeborn sheathed his dagger and walked off to where his wife was. 

Galadriel was finishing clapping for the small group and immediately took her husband by the hand when he came up behind her. She turned as he wrapped his arms about her and nuzzled his cheek. "I love music." 

Smiling, her husband chucked a bill in the case and they walked from the group.

"There's something I need to do, love." Celeborn said, pulling her closer to him.

Her affectionate attitude continued as she laid a light kiss on his neck, "and what might that be?"

"I need to go and acquire a weapon."

Galadriel dropped his hand but he kept on walking. She stared after him but he only stopped after a ways. "You are coming, aren't you?"

Knowing this was repayment for getting his hopes up before they left, Galadriel followed, not bothering to catch up.

~*~

Only the two customers treaded upon the high gloss floors as they looked over the counter at the rack behind. The store was about to close but that was no matter, Celeborn's eye for a good bow would draw him to one soon enough.

The design was sleek, black fiberglass, the grip promised a good, steady hold and it promised much more power in far shorter a weapon. 

Whilst Celeborn did all but drool over the bow, Galadriel examined her nails grumpily as she leaned on the counter. Normally she'd find just as much interest in it as he would but at the moment, his inattentiveness to her curves and desire to feel the bow's instead was irritating.

Eventually he did select one…and eventually they did get home…and he was forced by the shear power she exerted over his libido to forget about the bow…not that he complained.

~*~

Work the next day kept him on edge. His skin quivered like the strings of the instrument he kept hidden under his desk at the office, waiting for the hostile takeover to come at any moment. Noise finally did come to him from outside, noise that seemed like forced cheerfulness.

'Trying to trap them,' Celeborn thought as he advanced to the door, bow in hand and arrow being fitted onto the string.

He heard the voice of someone that almost sounded familiar. It sounded…for lack of better words, purely evil.

Taking in a deep, steadying breath and drawing back the string, Celeborn peeked out the crack of his door and saw the man who's voice and dark appearance did more to frighten him than anything else ever had or would. When the eyes of the man locked with his, Celeborn let his hand slip and the arrow plunged with a muted 'thock' into the carpet.

The steady breathing of the great warrior stopped completely as he pulled the arrow out of the carpet, stowed his bow and made his way out another door. 

The men of ladder 68 had never seen a suit run so fast in their lives. This particular suit had odd silver hair, ran straight past them with amazing finesse and through the door which led to a smaller offshoot of the firehouse, the classroom.

~*~

Thanks go to…well, mom for being a pain in the butt and getting me to write and nit-picking every little detail…but it made the story better so thanks:) And for the idea about the mime/mugger thing…

Sorry about the long wait folks!


	7. When it comes to light

~*~

Faith makes everybody scared

It's the unknown, the don't-know 

That keeps me hanging on  
to you I've got nothing left to defend   
I cannot pretend that everything makes sense   
but does it really matter now 

if I do not know how to figure this thing out

-Lifehouse, The Unknown

~*~

Soft sounding piano music drifted through the office, causing it's sole occupant to relax his strained mind ever so slightly.

"Ah, Beethoven, you are a good reason not to enslave and murder the whole of these pitiful little beings…except that your dead…so you don't count…pity…"

Seerin groaned as he leaned his elbows on his desk and massaged his temples. "I know him…I know I know him…but the me that I was knows him which is impossible because the me that I was…never lived in this time and place……Melkor help me."

The former Maia now made exceptional immortal being was currently faced with the same problem most elves were faced with when they were reborn on Aman. He couldn't remember many details like names of important (or so they liked to think of themselves) Elves and Men. Faces he could vaguely recall and that was the problem.

The man he had seen, or so he thought was a man, that he recognized by eyes alone. Eyes, which he supposed, must have belonged to someone he once knew in his former life.

But, for the life of him, Seerin couldn't figure out who the hell it was.

At this moment, Duke tapped lightly on the door of the office and poked his head in. Seerin did nothing but say, "what Duke?"

Duke cleared his throat. "The Post just called asking for an interview concerning the takeover of Ikea and Michael & Grayson."

Seerin looked up at his assistant with his head still in his hands. "Tell them I'm not taking any personal interviews and that Ikea and M&G will stay intact once under my indomitable fist." Finished, Seerin dropped his head with a 'thunk' on the hard oak desk.

"Um, people might not take the 'intact' part of that statement seriously if I leave in the 'indomitable fist' part, sir."

"Fine, change it, just go away." He mumbled in return from beneath the hair that had fallen to cover his face.

Duke, never having to be told twice to leave by his boss, went out immediately.

"I know," thunk, "that I know," thunk, "Him. Damn it." He growled, rubbing his head after beating it into his desk some more.

~*~

Gil-galad, former High King of the Noldor on Middle Earth, kneeled over a dummy's mid-section, learning proper CPR techniques when a sweaty, rumpled looking man in a suit burst into the classroom.

"Thebloodyfriigen'eveilbastar'sbackan'Isaw'imande's'ereandwerealldoomedan-," Celeborn blurted out, his roughneck accent not quite as intimidating.

Gil got up and shoved his friend out the door, firing a quick apology back at his teacher and fellow students.

Bracing his friend with both hands on his shoulders, Ereinion looked at him and asked, "now, slower and proper, what?"

Celeborn breathed and breathed. "I swear to Ilúvatar, I saw him, I saw Sauron."

Gil-galad's grip became iron on Celeborn's shoulders as he seemed to stare right through him.

The look the silver haired elf saw in his friend's eyes made him want to not be near him particularly so much so that he was happy when he let go and went back into the classroom. 

Ereinion returned with his Halligan and walked out of the firehall. Celeborn saw the tool and realized what his friend was going to do. Chasing after him, Celeborn caught him by the shoulder and spun him around only to be thrown against the wall by Ereinion's free arm.

"He's at your office then?" He asked coldly, the Halligan's pick pointing threateningly at Celeborn.

Celeborn remained silent for a moment until the arm brought him forward and slammed him against the wall again. "Where is he Celeborn?" The frosty, quiet question was driven home by the empty glare that went with it.

"Think about this, Ereinion, you need more people, we need an arm-gulgh." The last sound that came from the elf was caused by Ereinion tossing him to the side as he ran off.

~*~

The minor course Galadriel was taking on psychology was slightly amusing but pointless to her. At the moment, the disgusting professor was having some very lewd thoughts about her while the woman in front of her fidgeted because she hadn't had a fix in two hours.

Like a violent mountain wind descending into a valley, these despicable thoughts were shoved over by the pain of her lover and the pain and anger of her greatest friend. Such a jolt were these feelings that she doubled over to the side in her desk..

Those about her asked her if she was alright as she quietly got up and left the hall, clutching her stomach from a broken rib and ball of pain and rage that didn't belong to her.

'I didn't know where else to go'  

_'It's alright love.'_

_'But I couldn't stop him, he's going there right now.'_

_'Is Sauron still at your office?'_

_'I don't know, Ilúvatar, He could kill him.'_

_'That won't happen. Go and ask one of the nice healers Ereinion told us about that work there to help you, that rib is killing me.'_

_'Please be careful…'_

_'Always love.'_

~*~

Running through the downtown core when rush hour was just about to begin with a tool as big as the Halligan is rarely enough to startle the average New Yorker. But they did clear a bit of a path when the six-foot-nine, nicely built man ran through wearing an FDNY cadet shirt.

Ereinion cleared his way to Celeborn's intern office faster than he had. Hopping over a couple cars, Ereinion bounded up to the glass doors but stopped. 

'I understand that you're mad, that the pain and suffering he caused you through more than just your own death but the deaths of those around you is a pain I can never fully know no matter how I feel it. I understand your anger for what happened that day is something I can never truly calm but you need to know this Ereinion, you are an elf, he is a Maia and in a fight purely against one another, you can never win.'

Ereinion looked at the handle of the door and let his hand drop from it. "Everything he's done, all of the evil in the world I knew, he caused it all. What created him created that which slew my father, what he became tore apart my lands, my people, my family. How everyone I love has suffered because of him. Your family, meldis nin, so close I consider it my own, has known no end of pain…all of this and I could do nothing to stop it…"

The strong and furious speech which he had started with melted into a soft whimpering as he began to cry, sliding down with his palms upon the door.

In that same instant, the New Yorkers crowded about the sidewalk put up their umbrellas as a heavy, smothering rain began to pour. As it did, the crowds slowed as, indeed, did the droplets of rain themselves. 

Galadriel looked as though she was stepping through her homeland as she walked up to him from the dim surrounding them. 

It may have been that the citizens of New York are generally to involved with their own lives to notice much of anything during the commute or maybe that they were unaccustomed to the blanket of magic that surrounded all the elder creatures. One way or another, nobody took notice of the woman akin to a goddess holding the quivering, rain soaked man.

They walked for a long time, unnoticed by those about them, wandering through the rain, Ereinion looking a bit like the mythological Thor with his Halligan in hand. They spoke softly in each other's minds, Galadriel offering comfort to her friend as best she could with soothing words.

When they came to one building, which they were only able to see in the black, clouded sky when lightening silhouetted it, they looked up and stared for a long time, their brows furrowed. 

"Look at it, in the heart of the city, surrounded by a million buildings." Ereinion thought aloud.

"A veritable fortress." Galadriel whispered.

~*~

At the same moment, Seerin, whose forehead was red and sore, sat up, looked about the stood and went to his window. The height at which he stood and the brooding sky overhead afforded no view of what was below but he had no need of vision. 

His chest tightened as he laid his palms flat against the freezing glass and clouded it with his struggled breath.

"There you are…" He breathed.

~*~

The tightening sensation in Galadriel's abdomen threatened to make her sick as she laid a hand on Ereinion's shoulder and leaned against him.

"I need to be with Celeborn," she whispered to him.

Ereinion took one last look at the skyscraper before he took his friends arm and began leading her down the sidewalk.

~*~

"You din't whip 'er 'bout to, did ye?" Celeborn growled, sitting next to Galadriel on their bed who looked more pale than usual.

"Hush Celeborn." She said weakly.

Ereinion stood in the doorway, less than pleased with himself and thought quietly.

"I didn't mean to upset you or…him."

_"It's alright, meldir, you need rest yourself. Go home."_

He left quietly seeing that Celeborn, bandaged rib and all, was stroking her hair and whispering to her quietly.

He stood outside of his apartment, looking into the night which had descended down upon the city, the dark that meandered through it. Ereinion stood there most of the night.

~*~

I remind myself of somebody else  
feeling like I'm chasing 

Like I'm facing myself alone  
I've got somebody else's thoughts in my head

I want some of my own

Lifehouse, Somebody else's song

~*~*~*~*~*~

Yay, I updated without waiting for forever, huzzah! Anyway, it's because I'm on break, very helpful to the writing process. 

Thank you for all the reviews thus far!


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